Perhaps the most common call that any Lutz, FL plumber gets is in regards to plumbing clogs. The homeowner might have tried to relieve the issue with chemical drain cleaners, only to discover that the issue came back full force, or was never resolved in the first place.

The first thing you should know about treating plumbing blockages is that using store-bought drain cleaner can actually do more harm than good to your plumbing system. This is because the chemicals in these cleaners are corrosive and eat away at your pipes. It’s important to rely on professional plumbers when it comes to any service on your plumbing system.

For the most part, you’ll need to enlist the services of a skilled professional to have your HVAC system maintained. However, there is one crucial task that you should be completing on your own, as it cannot wait for your annual maintenance appointment: changing your air filter(s). Depending upon the type of system that you use, whether it is used for heating or cooling only, or both, and the design of the system, there may be more than one air filter to change. Consider the following information, and remember that this relatively simple procedure can do a world of good for your home comfort system.

We’re still not out of February just yet, and the temperatures around here have been fairly mild during the days, and pretty chilly at night. All of that is going to change pretty soon though, as the impending summer season draws closer and closer. It behooves you to start planning for that inevitability, and part of planning for summer is preparing your air conditioning system for the challenges that lie ahead. That is why you are wise to consider your air conditioning system’s maintenance needs now, before the heat of the summer season draws any closer. It’s only going to get hotter and hotter as it does, and you want your system in prime working condition before it is in use round the clock.

Living in total comfort is a goal that all homeowners share. Unfortunately, the quality of the air within the home is a facet of the overall comfort therein which is often overlooked. It is simply not enough to effectively heat and cool one’s living space; the quality of the air throughout that living space must also be maintained at a high level. For some homeowners, this necessitates the use of UV germicidal lights in Tampa, FL. Not every home will necessarily benefit from the use of such devices, though, which is why we have put together some information regarding UV germicidal lights and their uses for you to review. If you suspect that such devices could benefit you in your living space, schedule service with the pros here at IERNA’s Heating & Cooling.

Hollywood has always tried to match movies up to the seasons to draw droves of viewers to the theaters: October is packed with fright-offerings, while the winter holidays skew toward warm and pleasing family films (as well as Oscar hopefuls). Valentine’s Day falls in an odd spot when it comes to the movie release calendar, however, since February tends to be a slower time for the film industry. The studios are as likely to slot strange movies that don’t fit anywhere else in their annual schedules into the Valentine’s Day weekend as they are films with powerful romantic appeal.

So, while the second weekend of February has featured hugely successful romantic comedies like Hitch, The Wedding Singer, and (of course) Valentine’s Day, some truly weird choices have debuted in this weekend as well. And a few have even gone on to tremendous success despite the bizarre match with the holiday. Here are a couple of the odder Valentine’s Day movie releases:

Dracula (1931): Yes, this Halloween perennial and the start of Universal Studio’s Classic Monsters actually came out on Valentine’s Day! But perhaps this makes some sense, as the Dracula legend has often received a “doomed lover” approach in the many years since Bela Lugosi made the aristocratic vampire a screen icon.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991): Does any film seem less appropriate for Valentine’s Day than this unnerving and sometimes very violent psychological thriller? What’s even more astonishing than the film’s release date is that The Silence of the Lambs eventually nabbed the Oscar for Best Picture, an almost unheard of occurrence for a movie released so early in the year.

Daredevil (2003): This Marvel comic adaptation featuring Ben Affleck as a blind superhero does contain a romantic subplot, but the stronger connection to Valentine’s Day may just be that Daredevil wears a bright red costume.

A Good Day to Die Hard (2013): The least successful of the Die Hard film franchise, this is an excellent example of a studio dropping a film into a weekend where it doesn’t fit in the hopes that it works as counter-programming. (It didn’t.)

Wayne’s World (1992): Now here is an example of counter-programming that clicked with audiences. This comedy based on a Saturday Night Live sketch turned into one of that year’s biggest hits and spawned a sequel.

Whether you celebrate Valentine’s Day with a trip to the movie theater, or you have your own special plans, everyone here at Ierna Heating & Cooling hopes you and your loved ones have a wonderful weekend.

Before warm or cool air moves into your home from the heating or air conditioning system, it first traverses through a set of ducts that should provide a clear and efficient pathway through which air can travel—in theory. Unfortunately, these ducts aren’t always designed as well as they could be. Sometimes, installation flaws account for air leaks or allow heat to escape or enter the ducts undesirably. But a duct system may also develop leaks over time due to the pressure of the air it contains every day.

Now, don’t think that this is a rare occurrence that only happens in some households. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, most duct systems have major or minor leaks and flaws that account for an estimated 30% heating and cooling loss in the typical home. Any duct system can run into trouble over time, and it’s actually likely that yours is causing some issues of which you are unaware. Thankfully, you can schedule duct testing with a trained professional who can determine whether there are weak points in your ducts, the exact location of leaks, and what should be done about it.

When ducts leak air, it affects multiple areas of your home and your daily life. For one, a leaky duct system keeps you less comfortable. There are likely to be hot and cold spots around the home and your HVAC system will take longer to get the entire home to the right temperature. You’re less likely to notice the difference if the leak has progressed slowly over time (or if it’s always been there), but you may be spending hundreds more on heating and air conditioning every year than you would without any leaks at all. Furthermore, your HVAC system is working way harder than it should have to, which could mean that parts of your HVAC system will fail too soon if your duct system doesn’t receive attention.

Duct testing includes a thorough examination of your ductwork. Testing may include high-tech viewing and recording equipment, air pressure tests, and possibly a look at your HVAC equipment to determine how your ductwork may contribute to irregularities. Experts will then recommend services to correct the problem areas, including duct sealing, repairs, or even a bit of design work.

At first glance, the components involved in heat pump installation may seem a bit odd. The indoor heating unit fits right in, occupying much the same spot as any other central heating system. The outdoor unit, however, can be installed as far as 100 feet away from the house. It can be difficult to understand why that outdoor unit is necessary, as it certainly doesn’t seem to be helping to heat the home from that far away. Once you understand how a heat pump works, however, it all makes sense. Let’s examine the heat pump system, and why it needs both units.

Heat Pump Construction

As you may or may not know, a heat pump is not a combustion-based heating system. Unlike furnaces and boilers, which largely burn fuel to create heat, a heat pump merely moves heat from one place to another. This is part of what makes heat pumps so energy efficient. They only need electricity to operate, and consume no other fuel to work.

The way that a heat pump moves heat involves the indoor and outdoor units working together. Though they can be installed quite far apart, the two units are connected by a conduit that contains power and refrigerant lines. The refrigerant line is connected to a coil in each unit, which is vital to the operation of the entire system.

When the heat is turned on, the outdoor unit begins to evaporate the refrigerant in its coil. This turns the gaseous refrigerant into a heat sink, drawing thermal energy out of the air around the unit and into the coil. The refrigerant gas then carries that heat to the indoor unit, which converts the refrigerant back into a liquid. This process releases the heat, which is used to warm the air in the home.

So you see, the outdoor unit is the unit that actually provides the heat to your home. Without it, the heat pump would be a fan and not much else.

If you’d like to know more about your heat pump, call Ierna’s Heating & Cooling. We provide heat pump installation all over Tampa.

If you’re like many people in Lutz, you chose to install your whole-home dehumidifier in order to keep you and your family more comfortable on the most humid of days. Humidity leaves you feeling hot and sticky due to the excess moisture in the air. Moisture means that your body cannot evaporate sweat very easily, making you feel as though the temperature is hotter than it actually is. While your dehumidifier is a great help, it could potentially break down at some point, and you should pay attention to the signs of a malfunctioning system before it’s too late.

Benefits of Dehumidifiers

Dehumidifiers do more than keep you feeling cool and comfortable on a humid day. They can also prevent mold development in your home. Moisture creates an ideal environment for mold and mildew to thrive. As mold spores circulate through the ducts and move into the air you breathe, it can aggravate allergies or respiratory problems. Mold can also cause damage to your home, resulting in some costly renovations. While your air conditioner can remove some humidity from the air, a whole-home dehumidifier offers additional support to pull a large percentage of moisture from the air.

Signs of Dehumidifier Problems

Dehumidifiers are known for fairly quiet operation, so any loud noises should alert you to a problem with the system. You may also learn of a problem with your dehumidifier if the conditions in your home worsen, or if you start to notice water spots or leaks around the area of the unit. Whatever the repair need, it will only continue to worsen, leading to the possibility of no humidity control at all or water leaking into your home and damaging your belongings.

Schedule Maintenance and Repairs with Indoor Air Quality Experts

It’s important to schedule maintenance every year to clean and inspect your dehumidifier and make sure water drains properly and that all of the parts work as they are supposed to. This may be done as a part of your regular annual HVAC maintenance if you work with indoor air quality specialists.

Around this time of year, you may be considering some new options for your AC system. Though you may be more familiar with central air conditioning, it’s not the only option if you’re looking into a new AC system. Today, instead of central air conditioning, many homeowners choose ductless mini splits because of their flexible design options, size, and energy savings. Whether the size or layout of your home makes ductwork installation impossible or you are searching for more control over the placement of your indoor units, a ductless mini split system may be the right option for you.

If you are considering a ductless system in your home, Ierna’s Heating & Cooling offers ductless mini split installation in Wesley Chapel. Here are three factors to consider before a ductless mini split installation:

Ductless Systems Use Multiple Indoor Units Instead of Ducts: As the name suggests, mini splits do not use ductwork for cooling. As with central air conditioning, there is both an indoor and outdoor component. The advantage of mini splits is that multiple indoor units can be installed in your home that are all controlled by an outdoor compressor/condenser unit. Because of this, different rooms or zones can be set with separate thermostats for each one. This can increase your comfort and can help lower your energy bills.

Less Energy is Lost with a Ductless System: A lot of energy is lost within a home’s ductwork because of leaks and holes in the ducts or because the ducts are designed inefficiently. A ductless system can lower your bills by eliminating this potential energy loss.

Ductless Systems Provide Flexible Installation Options: The indoor component of a mini-split system can be installed in various locations throughout your home. This unit can be mounted on the wall or the ceiling and, because they are compact, they don’t interfere with the interior design of your home. A technician will discuss your options with you before the installation of your new ductless system.

You may have heard the term heat pump used in conjunction with home heating and air conditioning, and you may have wondered what exactly it entails. A heat pump is no different from an air conditioner in most respects, save one. A normal central air conditioner generates hot air as well as cool air: that air is vented outside your home while the air conditioner is running. A heat pump uses that hot air to warm your home in the winter the same way it cools the home in the summer. Here in land O’ Lakes, heat pump installation can be performed by the same services that provide air conditioning repair. How does heat pump installation differ from a central air system? That depends.

In some cases, a heat pump can be installed in the same place your old central system was located. The technician simply fits the heat pump to the existing duct system and ensures that the various lines and vents are clear. In many ways, this is the ideal situation for installing a new heat pump, since it doesn’t involve any radical changes to your house. In other situations, you may need to retrofit your ducts and air handlers to handle the new system, which requires a little more work.

In cases where you don’t want to use a centralized systems, heat pumps can be installed as ductless mini split units. In these cases, your duct system is rendered inert and multiple individual heat pumps are placed in the various rooms throughout your house. This requires opening line connections between indoor and outdoor components, ensuring electrical connections are secure and similar installation steps. It may not be the right choice for your home, but if you lack the space for a centralized system it could be just what you need.

We work throughout Land ‘O Lakes, heat pump installation is part of our core service and we can discuss your options with you to determine the best choice for your home. Pick up the phone and give us a call today!

If you know how heat pump installation differs from a central air system, the next step is to call upon the experts at Ierna’s Heating & Cooling for help.